Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar’s inspiring and probing documentary explores the complex relationship between India and her native country. Traveling the two nations, Sumar and Indian actress Kalki Koechlin witness radically changing political landscapes, their encounters giving rise to a personal and poetic search to uncover the voices of the silent majority, particularly those of women.

At home, Sumar has candid interviews with Pakistanis from different classes and regions, conversations where she is often the lone woman at the table. In India, Sumar and Koechlin speak with political figures and ordinary people, examining the rise of Hindu fundamentalism. As they despair at the decline of secular thought and the narrowing of expression they see in both nations, they also uncover the shared humanity beyond the divisive political rhetoric.

As nationalism surges in the U.S. and around the globe, AZMAISH is a valuable tool for sparking classroom conversations about intolerance, and also serves as an excellent primer for Americans on the India/Pakistan conflict from a woman’s perspective.